Asbestos-nylon cover cloth



Feb. 20, 1951 su u E 2,542,297

ASBESTOS-NYLON COVER CLOTH.

Filed Sept. 14, 1949 &MA6.MM

AT TORNEI Patented Feb. 20, 1951 ASBESTOS-NYLON COVER CLOTH Herbert E.Sunbury, Rutherford, and Walter C.

Hitchcock, Summit, N

J., aalgnors to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New Jersey Application September 14, 1949, Serial No.115,662

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a cover cloth for use upon dry cLaningpresses, laundry presses and other laundry or pressing equipment, andmore particularly to a strong durable heat resisting cover cloth formedby interweaving asbestos yarns and nylon or other heat resistantsynthetic yarns.

' Dry cleaning presses are used for pressing suits, dresses and otherarticles of clothing, and laundry presses are used to press wash goodssuch as shirts. dresses and other articles of wear. The cover clothcontemplated by the present invention was developed primarily for useupon these two types of presses but may be used upon other types ofpressing and laundering apparatus.

Dry cleaning presses and laundry presses are provided with a worksupporting fixed member called a buck and a movable pressing mem bercalled a head. The buck in dry cleaning presses and in laundry pressescomprises a table like member having a convexed yielding upper facewhich is usually covered with some form of textile or other padding, andover this padding is secured a cover cloth. The head has a concavedwork-engaging surface formed of metal, and this surface may or may notbe covered with a cover cloth.

Dry cleaning presses are operated at a temperature of about 240 to 275F. Laundry presses are operated at a temperature of from about 300 to340 F. These t -mperatures cause a cover cloth made of cotton todeteriorate rapidly particularly on laundry presses where the cottoncloth will char within a period of about one week.

It has therefore been proposed heretofore to use asbestos cover clothsformed of interwoven asbestos yarns, and a resin treated asbestos fabrichas been developed which has proven very successful for use upon steamheated dry cleaning presses to press the heavy type garments such aswoolen goods. Its service life is several times that of cotton covercloth, and the quality of the work produced meets dry cleaningstandards. When the same asbestos fabric is used as a cover on a hothead silk pressing machine the coarseness of its weave imparts anobjectionable impression upon the fine gabardine or silk article beingpressed, and if it is attempted to reduce the coarseness of this fabricby applying thereto a large amount of resin the fabric will becomeobjectionably stiff. When such asbestos fabric is used upon laundrypresses it is found that it becomes loaded with starch depositedthereupon from the goods being pressed. which is of course is raisedjust 'prior to the application of the vacuum. It is also found that theslippery surface of the nylon fabric has a tendency to leave excessiveshine on certain types of garments.

Recognizing the shortcomings above mentioned of asbestos cover cloth andnylon cover cloth, we have found that an excellent cover cloth can go beproduced by interweaving asbestos yarns and nylon yarns in a mannerhereinafter described whereby each yarn complements the other andproperties are imparted to the fabric which are not possessed by an allasbestos fabric or an all nylon fabric.

In producing the asbestos-nylon cover cloth contemplated by the presentinvention it is preferable to form the warp of the fabric entirely ofnylon yarns or other synthetic yarns having high heat resistingproperties, and to form the weft of the fabric entirely of asbestosyarns; It is also preferable to employ a sateen weave or other floatingweave with several up and one down, four up one down being considered agood construction. It is highly desirable that the fabric be so woventhat the work engaging face of the fabric be formed very largely but notentirely of nylon and that the back of the fabric be formed very largelybut not entirely of asbestos. The purpose of such a weave is to producea relatively smooth nylon face that is interrupted at short intervals byan asbestos yarn. Asbestos, being a mineral, has a mild abrasive actionand this gives the work-engaging face of the fabric a desired amount offriction, that reduces the smoothness of the fabric sufficiently toprevent a garment from slipping off of the buck, and also breaks up theweaving design slightly so as not to impartan excessively smooth surfaceto the clothing being pressed. The nylon yarns also serve to increasethe strength of the fabric and its resistance to abrasion and improveits flexing properties.

The interweaving of the asbestos and nylon yarns as herein contemplatedproduces another extremely important result which helps to keep down thetemperature of the nylon yarn and increase the working life of thefabric. This is due to the fact that steam is used to moisten the drycleaned garments being pressed; and laundered garments are pressed whilein a moist condition, so that in either case some moisture is suppliedto the cover cloth. The asbestos yarns absorb moisture readily and tendto retain this moisture adjacent the nylon yarns. As long as moisture isretained in the cover cloth by the asbestos yarns, much of the heatapplied to the cloth will be utilized in changing the moisture to vaporor steam, and the latent heat used up in converting water into steamdoes not produce a further temperature rise. If all moisture isvaporized the temperature of the cloth will rise rapidly, but as long assome moisture is present in the cloth it will help to keep down thetemperature of the nylon yarns and this is an important factor inprolonging the life of the nylon yarns and that of the asbestos-nylonfabric.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the interwoven asbestos andnylon yarns cooperate in a highly desirable manner to produce a covercloth having many desirable features such as good heat resistingproperties, long life, high resistance to abrasion and tear, goodflexing properties,'is free of lint, does not become loaded with starch,and has a work surface that is smooth enough to meet the requirements ofvarious dry cleaning and laundry presses without producing a surfacethat is so smooth that the goods will slip ofi of the buck or give thepressed goods an objectionable shiny appearance.

The cover cloth of the present invention also protects the underlyingflannel material, when such is used between the padding and cover cloth,so that such material has longer life by not burning out as fast.

It has been observed that laundered articles dry faster when pressed onthis asbestos-nylon cover thereby speeding up the cycle of operationsdue to this faster drying and increasing the productivity of the press.

The above and other features of the cover cloth contemplated by thepresent invention will be further understood from the followingdescription when read in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view of the work face of a piece of fabricconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the lower portion or buck of a typicallaundry press covered with the fabric shown in Figs 1 and 2.

The fabric [0 contemplated by the present invention is formed of theweft yarns II and warp yarns l2. The weft yarns Hare asbestos yarns, andthe warp yarns I2 are formed of nylon or other heat resistant syntheticfibers. The nylon yarns l2 are shown as having very little twist andthis permits them to flatten out in the fabric more than the asbestosyarns which have a substantial amount of twist, however if desired thenylon yarns may have considerable twist. The weave shown is a sateenweave with four up and one down, and while it is not essential that thisparticular type of weave be employed it is important that a floatingweave be used with several up and one down so that the working face of"the fabric will be formed very largely but not entirely of nylon. It isnot essential that the warp be formed entirely of nylon and the weftentirely 4 of asbestos so long as the work face of the fabric i0 isformed very largely but not entirely of nylon.

The wearing properties of the asbestos and nylon yarns can be furtherimproved and the life of the fabric increased by treating the fabricwith a small amount of a suitable resin;

The synthetic heat-resistant yarns i2 are preferably formed of fibers ofa drawn linear condensation polymer selected from the group consistingof synthetic polymeric amides i. e. the materials known as nylon andsaturated linear polyesters made by esterifying a glycol with a dibasicacid and devoid of ethylenic and acetylenic unsaturation, such as apolyester derived essentially from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycoland known as Terylene." Fibers formed of such "Terylene have a meltingpoint of about 480 F., are tough and durable and have excellent heatresisting properties. The nvlqn and "Terylene yarns here employed arecapable of withstanding the high temperature and wear resulting fromweeks of ironing or pressing, such as six to eight weeks in respect tolaundry press covers, and several months on dry cleaning press covers.

The fabric contemplated by the present invention has, as above stated,been designed primarily as a cover cloth for use upon dry cleaningpresses and laundry presses, and in Fig. 3 of the drawing there is shownthe lower portion or buck of a dry cleaning press and comprising tableor supporting surface I3 having extended upwardly therefrom a p0st l4that supports a buck I5 of usual construction. The upper curved face ofthis buck is covered with the textile or other padding material l5. Overthis padding I6 is secured the cover cloth [0. Different means may beemployed to secure the cover cloth in place upon the buck, and in theconstruction shown the cover is secured in place by a draw string Ildisposed at the under face of the buck and threaded through hemsprovided at the marginal edges of the cover cloth. The fabric ispreferably so applied that the nylon yarns l2 extend lengthwise of thebuck, but it may be applied with the nylon yarns extending transverselyof the buck or diagonally thereof.

One good practical construction for the asbestos-nylon cover clothcontemplated by the present invention and designated by ID in thedrawing is the following:

Nylon warp yarn 260 d/17 Asbestos weft yarn .51/2 (23 cut) Warps perinch 84 Wefts per inch 31 Sateen weave 4 up 1 down Weight (grey fabricoff loom) 11.37 ozs./sq. yd.

1 Scoured and treated with 1% Rhoplex Resin.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that an asbestos-nyloncover'cloth constructed in accordance with the present invention iscapable 'of giving long service and possesses many advanv tages over anall asbestos or an all nylon cover cloth. The more important of suchadvantages 1} are; controlled smoothness of the working face of thecover cloth; high flexibility; and good resist ance to heat, abrasionand tearing.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

1. An asbestos-nylon cover cloth for use upon dry cleaning presses andlaundry presses, comprising a fabric formed of asbestos and nylon yarnsinterwoven with a floating weave so that the work engaging face of thefabric is formed very largely but not entirely of nylon and the back isformed very largely but not entirely of asbestos, whereby a. strongheat-resistant fabric is produced having a smooth nylon face interruptedat short intervals by the rougher asbestos yarns, and the moistureabsorbing property of the asbestos helps to keep down the temperature ofthe nylon.

2. A cover cloth for use upon dry cleaning presses and'laundry presses,comprising a fabric formed of asbestos yarns and synthetic yarns made offibersof a linear condensation polymer nylon yarns interwoven with theasbestos yarns with a floating weave with one down and several up, sothat the work engaging face is formed very largely but not entirely ofthe nylon yarns and the back is formed very largely but not entirely ofthe asbestos yarns, whereby the fabric is given a relatively smooth workface and the moisture absorbing property of the asbestos helps to keepdown the temperature of the nylon yarns.

5. A cover cloth for use upon pressing and laundering apparatus,comprising a durable heatresistant fabric formed of asbestos yarns andsynthetic yarns made of fibers of a linear condensation polymer havinggood heat resisting properties, said yarns being interwoven with theasbestos yarns with a floating weave with one down and several up, sothat the work engaging face is formed very largely but not entirely ofthe synthetic yarns and the back is formed very largely but not entirelyof the asbestos yarns,

- whereby the fabric is given a relatively smooth having good heatresisting properties, said yarns F being interwoven with a floatingweave so that work face and the moisture absorbing property of theasbestos helps to keep down the temperathe work engaging face of thefabric is formed I very largely but not entirely of the synthetic yarnsand the back is formed verylargely but not entirely of the asbestosyarns, whereby a strong heat-resistant fabric is formed having a smoothworkface that is interrupted at short intervals by the rougher asbestosyarns and the moisture absorbing property of the asbestos helps to keepdown the temperature of the synthetic yarns. a

3. A cover cloth for use upon dry cleaning presses and laundry presses,comprising a fabric woven of asbestos yarns and synthetic yarns made offibers formed of polymers selected from the group consisting ofsynthetic polymeric amides and saturated linear polyesters, said yarnsbeing interwoven with a floating weave so that the work engaging face ofthe fabric is formed very largely but not entirely of the'syntheticyarns and the back is formed very largely but not entirely of theasbestos yarns, whereby a strong heat-resistant fabric is formed havinga smooth work face that is interrupted at short intervals by the rougherasbestos yarns and the moisture absorbing property of the asbestos helpsto keep down the temperature of the synthetic yarns.

4. A cover cloth for use upon pressing and laundering apparatus,comprising a durable heatresistant fabric formed of asbestos yarns andture of the synthetic yarns.

6. A cover cloth for use upon pressing and laundering apparatus,comprising a durable heatresistant fabric formed of asbestos yarns andsynthetic yarns made of fibers of a linear condensation polymer havinggood heat resisting properties, said yarns being interwoven with theasbestos yarns so that the working face is formed primarily of saidsynthetic yarns and the back is formed primarily of said asbestos yarnsto there- 'by impart a controlled smoothness to the working face thatwill not objectionably impress its weave upon the garment being pressedand will not impart an objectionable shine to such garment.

HERBERT E. SUNBURY. WALTER C. HITCHCOCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,180,515 Foster Nov. 21., 19392,210,290 Heinsohn Aug. 6, 1940 2,252,554 Carothers Aug. 12, 19412,354,435 Stedman July 25, 1944 2,444,903 Van Buren July 6, 1948

1. AN ASBESTO-NYLON COVER CLOTH FOR USE UPON DRY CLEANING PRESSES ANDLAUNDRY PRESSES, COMPRISING A FABRIC FORMED A ASBETOS AND NYLON YARNSINTERWOVEN WITH A FLOATING WEAVE SO THAT THE WORK ENGAGING FACE OF THEFABRIC IS FORMED VERY LARGELY BUT NOT ENTIRELY OF NYLON AND THE BACK ISFORMED VERY LARGELY BUT NOT ENTIRELY OF LASBESTOS, WHEREBY A STRONGHEAT-RESISTANT FABRIC IS PRODUCED HAVING A SMOOTH NYLON FACE INTERRUPTEDAT SHORE INTERVALS BY THE ROUGHER ASBESTOS YARNS, AND THE MOISTUREABSORBING PROPERTY OF THE ASBESTOS HELPS TO KEEP DOWN THE TEMPERATURE OFTHE NYLON.